Intro

Intro

There’s no doubt that renewable energy is an important issue to Denton residents. In fact, over the past five years our city has secured its place as a national leader in public power by providing 40% wind energy to every customer with no corresponding increase in rates.

So how did we become such a force to be reckoned with? Denton Municipal Electric is one of the 72 publicly-owned utility companies in Texas. That means that we operate with residents’ interest ﹘ and not a profit ﹘ in mind. But what that also means is that DME and Denton residents discuss together how we as a city want to use energy.

Through those conversations, you’ve made it clear ﹘ you want more renewable energy. Our response is the Renewable Denton Plan, a plan that will enable us to increase Denton’s renewable energy from 40% to 70% by the year 2019.

THE PLAN

Challenge

Renewable energy is an important resource because it has a lower environmental impact than other conventional energy sources, and because wind and solar power can be naturally replenished. However, renewable generation is intermittent and difficult to predict. Therefore, in order to rely on energy that is majority renewable, we need to secure a reliable source of dispatchable, on-demand power ﹘ something that can ramp up and down quickly in response to renewable variability.

Solution

After years of research, we believe that building a natural gas plant is the best option for securing dispatchable generation for Denton. The proposed Denton Energy Center will increase our renewable energy footprint while providing safe, reliable power in a way that does not drive increased rates. It’s a plan that’s good for the environment and for electric bills.

Outcome

In less than 5 years from now, we will have succeeded in raising the bar and remaining a national leader by providing renewable energy in a way that is cleaner for the environment and saves Denton millions of dollars.

Denton Energy Center

The Denton Energy Center will enable DME to provide 70% renewable energy to residents by generating the on-demand power necessary to sustain production gaps that naturally occur with renewable energy sources. The DEC will bring cleaner energy to Denton while saving the city millions of dollars.

With our own quick-start generation facility, Denton’s percentage of renewable energy will increase.

Projected rate comparison of four different scenarios. See a further discussion of these scenarios here.

Projected emissions comparisons of four different scenarios. See a further discussion of these scenarios here.

Projected energy costs of four different scenarios. See a further discussion of these scenarios here.

Projected emissions comparisons for three different sources of generation. ERCOT refers to energy purchased on the state's grid. TMPA refers to the coal plan in which DME has part ownership.

Get Involved

Get Involved

Denton Municipal Electric holds public meetings to discuss the proposed Renewable Denton Plan. These meetings give members of the public an opportunity to ask questions and receive answers from subject matter experts.

Get Involved

Get Involved

Denton Municipal Electric holds public meetings to discuss the proposed Renewable Denton Plan. These meetings give members of the public an opportunity to ask questions and receive answers from subject matter experts.